Housing Giants - August 11, 2008 - (Page 33) measuring quality and customer satisfaction Brett Gardner, chief operating officer of Darling Homes in Dallas, Texas, says data and reports on customer satisfaction are one of the major drivers of their business. Darling uses an internal survey at the time of closing where the customer is asked to rank their experience on a number of levels. Sixty days after closing, they also use a customer survey by Woodland, O’Brien & Scott to capture customer sentiment. Then they conduct another survey eleven months after closing. “We use that to continue to improve our performance. [Customer satisfaction] is everything for our company because we go to market with the value proposition of being customer-intimate. In our business model, we’re all about the customer,” says Gardner. Before a house is closed and builders are thinking about customer satisfaction, quality control reports can ensure that builders are creating top-notch products. McGee says that more builders are tracking data on walk-throughs with customers and creating punch-list items to measure production performance. McGee says using PDAs and software makes it easy for builders to walk through their homes and easily generate reports. Unify International’s solutions allow builders to attach pictures, audio files and other forms of documentation. “More and more builders are tracking statistics in that area both to try and create more accountability with construction but also to create a better impression with the buyer,” says McGee. As part of quality control and how it affects customer satisfaction, Glen Gleason says that Dewey Homes surveys customers at move-in then at six months and one year after move in. Dewey uses an outside firm to conduct the surveys and then tracks the results against the industry standards. Gleason also tracks how many works orders average per home and how quickly and well they respond to those orders. “We correlate that the better we build the house, the better the HRI (home readiness inspection), the quality of the house and the reduction on warranty items further down the line,” says Gleason. HG www.Housinggiants.com 8.11.08.Housing giants 33 http://www.housingzone.com/GIANTS/article/CA6557753.html http://www.housingzone.com/giants/article/CA6435062.html http://www.housingzone.com/giants/article/CA6406845.html http://www.housinggiants.com
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